1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to an electronic animal training apparatus that allows a trainer to remotely correct the behavior of animals. More particularly, this invention pertains to a hand-held transmitter used by a trainer having a keypad that can be reprogrammed to be used with a variable number of animals and for various training objectives.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic animal training devices are an effective tool for correcting the behavior of animals. Professional trainers widely employ electronic animal training to prepare animals for a task. A common example is the training of sporting dogs to retrieve game. A professional trainer generally performs a variety of training methods and works with a large number of animals on a regular basis. Because of this, trainers are required to utilize more than one electronic training apparatus in performance of their duties.
The necessity of multiple electronic training devices unnecessarily increases the complexity of training. A trainer must maintain a variety of matched transmitter and receiver collar pairs to accomplish different training functions. Even when the products are all supplied by the same manufacturer, there is no assurance that interoperability between the devices was contemplated.
As training progresses, the method employed by the trainer may change to best tailor the training program to the animal. If the change to the training program involves a change in the electronic training apparatus facilitating the training, the trainer must cease training and swap the training device in use. The change may simply involve swapping the transmitter unit for another, but it may also require the receiver unit to be traded out for another that is paired with the new transmitter.
Accordingly, it is desirable to use a transmitter and receiver collar pair where the function of the transmitter can be altered as desired by the trainer. This would eliminate the need for having multiple transmitter and receiver collar pairs available to the trainer.